The present invention relates generally to call management and more particularly to call center technology that permits agents to provide quick and informed customer service.
Many businesses use agents or operators to service customers by telephone. These businesses often employ several agents connected to an Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) system, such as a Meridians.RTM. ACD manufactured by Northern Telecom, Ltd., to handle multiple calls simultaneously. The call center technology distributes the calls (usually dialed with an 800 number) to the agents.
There are three principal types of call center technology: standalone ACDs, ACDs integrated with a Private Branch Exchange (PBX), and central office based ACDs. The most commonly used type is the ACD integrated with a PBX.
Conventional call centers require agents to ask customers for information, such as the customer's name and address. The customer may also request service in a language other than English. Conventional call centers typically require agents to collect this information through verbal dialogue with the customer.
Telephone companies store callers' names and addresses in databases for access by telephone company operators responding to directory assistance requests from callers. The databases are typically regional databases, updated on a daily basis to maintain current and accurate information. Operators seeking caller information usually access the databases using the caller's name or address.
Telephone companies also maintain a second set of regional databases accessed by calling telephone number or Directory Number (DN). These databases are called Line Information Databases (LIDB). LIDBs contain numerous data segments, including, for example, information regarding the kind of calling telephone (e.g., coin, coinless, etc.), the language preference of the DN owner, and the desire of the DN owner for automated telephone services.
Conventional call centers, however, have no access to the telephone companies' databases. Therefore, agents must obtain this information on their own through verbal interaction with customers. The collection of the information in this manner is time consuming for both the customer and the agent, and therefore costly. Additionally, the verbally collected information commonly contains errors due to mistakes made by the agents in collecting the information.